To say JEB is a trailblazer is accurate but inadequate. As she puts it, “We were outlaws, literally, because of the laws against us.” Today, it's difficult to imagine the chutzpah it took for JEB to self-publish Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians,  the U.S.'s first published photography anthology focused on out lesbians, in 1979. JEB sat down with BUST to discuss her work, share the progress and pitfalls of lesbian representation, and remind us that imagining a better future is easier when you can actually...

We all know women’s history should be showcased and celebrated for more than 31 days a year. But each March, Women’s History Month pushes us to dig a little deeper into the history of the women who have shaped our past and our present, and created ripple effects that will likely shape our future. Since last year’s Women’s History Month, we’ve seen many inspiring women create world-shifting change. Stacey Abrams’ encouraging work with Georgia voters turned the state blue. Dolly Parton contributed to funding the...

In order to achieve any goal, you have to imagine it for yourself first. Yet, some people roll their eyes at the concept of “manifesting.” In her new book WishCraft, Shauna Cummins, a N.Y.C.-based hypnotist and artist, carefully lays out why wishing is really the most important tool in our brain box for harnessing the subconscious mind to achieve our goals. She delves into historical and cultural traditions around wishing (including lessons from her own Celtic roots) and provides instructions for easy rituals you can...

“You’re a cheetah, did you know that?” someone said to me. “You have to read Untamed by Glennon Doyle.” Released almost a year ago in March 2020, I had seen the vibrant book cover toted around by many women at airports, at brunches, and on Instagram; I saw Elizabeth Gilbert’s stamp of approval on the back. But it took me almost a full year to read the book that has sold over 1 million copies and was #1 on the New York Timesbest-seller list. Now that I have read...

Rapper, poet, and producer Noname is working towards abolishing the police and educating others on Black history — one book at a time. Since she created her online and IRL book club, Noname Book Club, back in 2019, it was announced on Monday, March 1, that Noname and other club members across the nation have come together to provide an official space for the organization. The official headquarters for the club will be an open area that will provide free services such as “political education classes,...

In her new book The Barbizon, historian Paulina Bren takes readers deep into the world of New York’s most famous women-only residential hotel. From its opening in 1928 through its eventual conversion to a more standard hotel in 1981, the Barbizon hosted countless icons, including Grace Kelly, Joan Didion, Phylicia Rashad, and Sylvia Plath. (Plath famously chronicled her time as a resident in The Bell Jar.) While Bren’s book is packed with juicy midcentury gossip, it’s also full of lesser-known characters who light up the...

A lot has been written on the subject of addiction, but Nina Renata Aron’s unflinching memoir, Good Morning, Destroyer of Men’s Souls, tells a story often overlooked—the story of what it’s like to be in love with a person who struggles with addiction. Aron intersperses her own experiences with historical and psychological context, dispelling misconceptions about the temperance movement, Al-Anon, and codependence. Here, Aron and I spoke about her book, relationships, and motherhood. Your book details the temperance movement, the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, and codependent theory....

Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat is a beautiful, complicated epic of agrarian life in South Africa from 1948 onward, and it explores the evolution of a relationship between two women who take care of one another. Agaat, for whom the book is named, is a nurse, farmhand, and nanny essential to the functioning of the farm, Grootmoedersdrift. The complex relationship between Agaat and the woman who takes her in, farm matron Milla de Wet, is the heart and soul of this book. Over the span of...

I was supposed to write this article, an interview with Spider-Woman writer Karla Pacheco, almost a year ago. I messed up, but the world is currently kind of on fire, so we're okay. I bring this up to you, dear reader, because the irony of the situation does not go over my head: I messed up writing a story about the amazing Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman, who also at times has great intentions but f**ks up. Pacheco's Spider-Woman run has experienced a couple of setbacks because...

Few things are as cliché as a character standing on the edge of a bridge, contemplating suicide, in the pouring rain, before being rescued at the last moment. But these scenes play out effortlessly in the opening chapters of This Close to Okay by Leesa CrossSmith. The narrative bounces between the voices of Tallie and Emmett (our “we’re not in love” duo), which is a fun way to tell the tale of two secret-keeping soon-to-be lovers. Without wasting any time, Tallie convinces Emmett to get...